We have a book just for YOU

Welcome To SORMAG's Blog

Saturday, June 30, 2012

FEATURED AUTHOR: Kelli London

Kelli London is the author of Boyfriend Season: Cali Boys, Boyfriend
Season and Uptown Dreams. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, she
lives outside of Atlanta with her family and has daily one-sided
conversations with her dog Marlowe, who’ll be making her fiction debut in
Kelli’s next novel, Charly’s Epic Fiascos.

How did you start out your writing career?

My writing career…(Laughing), well, it seems as if I’ve always had one,
even when I wasn’t published. I first began writing, rather, attempting to
write in elementary school, while on a summertime punishment. Unable to go
outside and play or talk on the phone, I began to entertain myself through
characters, who, eventually, worked themselves into a full-length story
because they had so much to say and so much life to give. I’ve been
writing ever since, and I owe that to my Mom, who exacted that punishment!

What did you learn while writing this book?

Being a teenager isn’t easy. Better yet, being a teenage girl who’s
relocated and trying to find herself can be two of the hardest feats a
girl has to overcome. Women deal with a lot, teenage girls deal with just
as much and, maybe, more. Friends, hormones, boys…a trio of unanswered,
not yet figured out important parts of life dominate teenage existence
and, as a woman, who once believed teenaged problems dissipated with my
generation, I encountered a huge wake-up-that-still-exists-call that
served as proof that teen life is tough. Today’s teenagers are much
stronger than most people think. Teenagers aren’t nearly as confused as
adults believe either; adults just can’t seem to figure out all that teens
endure because in the process of reaching adulthood we forget, and that’s
why adults and teens don’t speak the same language. One has lost fluency,
and the other is mastering it.

What did you hope to accomplish with this book?

I want girls to know that no matter what walk of life they come from, no
matter how they view themselves, whether negatively or positively, no
matter how others view them, they are important—they are queens, not
court. Their dreams are important and real and worth it, and so are they.
I needed them to know that if the world viewed them as beautiful on the
outside, they are equally beautiful within. And if the world’s vision was
skewed and unable to recognize their outer beauty, they were and are still
beautiful. Life isn’t what other’s think of us or what they call us. Life
is what we answer to.

What came first with this story, the characters or the plot? Why?

The story came first, then the plot, then the characters. The story was
first because I wanted to write about something relevant to many girls.
We’ve all dealt with maturing, physically and otherwise, of being in that
weird in-between stage of becoming beautiful, but not quite making it yet.
And we’ve all dealt with boys, the one’s we didn’t think we were good
enough for or the ones we didn’t think good enough for us. Another reason
I chose the story first was because I wanted to show there are two sides
to pretty just as there are two sides to a hand, and most, if not all,
girls fit into either category. On one side of the hand you have a girl
who is physically attractive and seems to have it all. On the other side
of the hand, you have a girl who hasn’t yet realized her beauty, and is
worth more than she believes. The bottom line, no matter which side a girl
relates to, it’s still the same hand, and all girls possess beauty, and
that beauty starts within—it’s the pulse running through the hand. And the
rest: boys, clothes, popularity, smarts, etc. are just life’s accessories
that either make the hand look good or not, but can never change the hand
from being a hand. In short, a girl will still be a girl—important and
beautiful—and nothing can change that.

What has surprised you most about becoming a published author?

That teens would really enjoy and relate to my stories. I love it when I
get it right, and when they email and tell me they’ve somehow connected to
a character or story. Knowing that something I’ve written has moved them
in some positive way always awes me and makes me grateful.

What aspect of writing do you love the best, and which do you hate the most?

I love the actual writing of the first draft, then seeing it all come
together, piece by piece, character by character. I’m not a big fan of
edits. I’d rather do a rewrite than an edit, and, usually, that’s what I
do. Drafts, I can do all day. Edits make me pause because I’m always
afraid of breaking the momentum.

What are three things you wish you’d known before you reached where you
are now?

That I could’ve done this years ago. I used to talk about writing all the
time. I’m going to write a book one day. When I get the time, I’m going to
sit down and start and finish a story. Next summer… I’m almost ashamed to
admit I used to make every excuse about why I hadn’t written a full-length
novel, but I did. The other two things are: 2.) Preparation and 3.) More
preparation. Writing means honing and honing means writing. A writer can
never study the craft enough, and to learn the craft, you have to relearn
it, and that’s also a process that requires you to write, edit, then write
again. It’s cyclical, and never stops.

Can you give us one do and one don’t for those aspiring to be a writer?

Do talk to yourself, your characters, and listen to both, then write.
Don’t listen to others who tell you how to write, what to write or when to
write. Listen to your internal clock and voice because your story and your
method is within, and only you can breathe life into it.

What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand?

Writing is a process—a seriously hard process that takes a lot of time,
study, effort and delivery. Oftentimes, I’m approached about writing
because everyone has a story, a great story, and their having a great
story may, in fact, be true. However, I’m not the one who will advise them
on how to write it, other than giving them the basic answer, which many
don’t like because they’re looking for more. That basic answer is always
the same: Write it. Just write it. Writing the story is the only way it’ll
get written. However, I do offer another answer they need, and that is:
You better write it because if you don’t, the story will never go away.
It’ll just keep stalking you until you get it out. Characters need to be
introduced and their stories need to be told, and only a writer can do
that.

Tell us something few know about you?

I’m an education junkie. I love education. Schools. Libraries. Research.
Anywhere you’d think to find a book on education, history, the craft of
and study of writing, I’m bound to have been there or spend a lot of time
there. However, I’m even more big on educating one’s self because people
can only teach you what they’ve been taught. Therefore, the real teaching
is behind the teacher of the teaching. The real learning is in the
discovery of truth, not man’s or the history writers, which is equivalent
to the winners of battles, etc., but the whole truth, which rarely lies on
the surface or makes its way into textbooks.

When you're not writing, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Besides talking to my dog, Marlowe, I run, am an Ashtanga yoga junkie,
and sing all the time. I like to have fun, celebrate life, and radiate
good, positive things. I also like girly stuff: clothes, dressing up,
lip-gloss, movies with happy endings, and long walks. Other than that,
there is no spare time because I’m always thinking of new stories, new
characters and new situations.

What do you do to interact with your readers?

I mostly interact through email and social media.

Our theme for this month is INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS. Have you ever
considered self publishing your work? Why or Why not?. If you are a
independent publishers, can you offer some tips for taking this journey.

I think self-publishing is a great thing and know many who’ve done it, but
I was fortunate enough to have a publisher publish my work, and that gives
me more time to write.

Who was the first author you ever met?

I was fortunate to meet the great Maya Angelou, and it was simply
amazing. She’s a wonderful person and speaker—an incredible woman who
exerts positivity and makes one want to be better.

Oprah always asks, what do you know for sure?

I know that I do not know, but am always on a mission to learn.
However, if I could know one thing without a doubt—okay, multiple things,
they’d be: How to excel in happiness, love, and best-ness (Okay, it’s not
technically a word you’ll find in a dictionary, but I like it! ☺). I
think we focus so much on right and wrong, that sometimes we forget about
what’s best. To me, what’s best is what makes the world better—what makes
me better. If I’m better, then I can create better stories that will,
hopefully, attribute to making my readers better.

Can you give us a sneak peek of your next book?

CHARLY’S EPIC FIASCOS

My name is Charly, I’m sixteen, and between my dream-killing mother and
having to work part-time to help pay the bills, my life sucks. Big Time.
But guess what? I’ve got a dream no one can kill, and I’ve been planning
how to make it come true.

I had it all figured out: save money for a smartphone and finally get
connected to the world beyond this Illinois dump I call home. Take online
acting classes, send out headshots, and boom—get on a Reality TV show. But
guess what? Ms. Dream Killer “borrowed” my hard-earned cash. She said
“Well, you owe me for having you.” So I’m done. I’m outta here and on my
way to New York. I’ve got an aunt there who works for a TV network. She
told me to look her up, and the time is now. I’ll do whatever I have to do
to get there—and between the most messed up travel plans you can imagine,
and a bunch of broken promises, it’s clear that’s going to be a lot. But
nothing will stop me, not even if the biggest challenge of all is waiting
at my destination…

How can readers get in contact with you? (mail, email, website)www.kellilondon.com
Kelli@kellilondon.com
Facebook: Kelli London
Twitter: @Kelli_London

It’s a town of heartthrobs, drama queens, and bullies. Now two teens who
are new to LA are about to get a crash course in it all—and learn that
getting the guy isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be…

Kassidy Maddox has everything—beauty, brains, and confidence to spare.
Fresh off the New York A-list, she knows what she wants: Brent, Romero,
and Carsen, three extremely fine, must-have boys. And she isn’t about to
choose between them—until she meets Diggs. He’s a hot property—and he
doesn’t like to share. Will Kassidy finally have to give up the spotlight?

Jacobi Swanson is a late bloomer with a major crush on two guys. There’s
Shooby from the old neighborhood, the guy she can’t let go of, and
seemingly, can’t have, and then there’s Malone, the guy next door who’s
got a serious case of the perfects—perfectly popular, perfectly smart, and
perfectly rich. Determined to break out of her shell and into the heart of
the guy who’s right for her, Jacobi turns to Kassidy for beauty and boy
tips. But when Jacobi finally captures the right one’s attention, she’ll
have to figure out whether he’s for real—along with everything else in
La-La Land…

If you enjoyed this post, please consider becoming a member of SORMAG's community - Join Today